How-to · 9 steps
How do you buy a tourist SIM in Austria in 2026?
Updated May 14, 2026 · By Jules de Bruin · A passport, a Hofer till receipt and a 20-minute walk — the cheapest path to an Austrian number for visitors staying 1 week to 3 months.
Updated May 2026. The cheapest Austrian tourist SIM is HoT on the Magenta network, sold at every Hofer (Aldi Süd) supermarket from EUR 4.90 for the starter pack and EUR 5.90 per 30 days for 10 GB. spusu on Drei is the cheapest online option for stays over four weeks. The fastest fallback is the A1 or Magenta shop in Vienna airport (VIE) Terminal 1 arrivals, open 06:00–22:00. A travel eSIM (Airalo, Holafly) avoids the queue. Bring your passport — Austrian law has required SIM identity verification since January 2019.
Where do you buy a tourist SIM in Austria in 2026?
Hofer (cheapest) · Spar · Vienna airport (fastest) · Online before you fly
Four channels sell SIMs to tourists. Hofer supermarkets (Aldi Süd in the rest of Europe) sell HoT from EUR 4.90 — the cheapest and most widespread option. Spar, Interspar and Lidl stock their own brands (S-BUDGET, Lidl Connect). A1 and Magenta operate shops in Vienna airport (VIE) Terminal 1 arrivals for travellers who land without coverage. spusu and Drei ship online — useful for stays over four weeks.
The cost gap between channels is large. A 30-day prepaid bundle at Hofer costs EUR 5.90–9.90 all-in. The same data bought at an airport A1 or Magenta counter usually starts at EUR 15–20 — sometimes EUR 25 for tourist-branded packs with English-language activation. Travel eSIMs sit in between on a euro-per-gigabyte basis but win on speed: they activate before you land.
| Channel | Brand sold | Starter price | 30-day plan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hofer (Aldi Süd) | HoT (Magenta) | EUR 4.90 | EUR 5.90 / 10 GB | Cheapest, country-wide |
| Lidl supermarket | Lidl Connect (Drei) | EUR 9.90 | EUR 9.50 / 100 GB | Most data per euro |
| Spar / Interspar | S-BUDGET (A1) | EUR 9.90 | EUR 9.90 / 20 GB | A1 rural coverage |
| Vienna airport T1 | A1, Magenta, Drei | EUR 15–25 | EUR 19–25 / 20–50 GB | Fastest after landing |
| spusu.at (online) | spusu (Drei) | EUR 9.90 | EUR 6.90 / 10 GB | Stays over four weeks |
| Travel eSIM | Airalo, Holafly | USD 4.50 | EUR 14.90 / 10 GB | Pre-arrival, no passport check |
Source: Operator pricing pages and Hofer / Lidl / Spar shelf prices, verified May 2026
What's the cheapest Austrian SIM for tourists?
HoT smart at Hofer · EUR 5.90 / 30 days · Magenta network
HoT smart at Hofer is the cheapest tourist SIM in Austria. The starter pack costs EUR 4.90 (includes EUR 4 credit), and the HoT smart 10 GB monthly plan is EUR 5.90 per 30 days with unlimited Austrian and EU minutes. HoT runs on the Magenta network, owned by Deutsche Telekom — full 4G/5G across Vienna, Salzburg and major cities. Bring a passport for in-app or web identity check.
EUR 5.90 per 30 days for 10 GB of data plus unlimited Austrian and EU calls and texts. Sold at every Hofer supermarket; activation is online at hot.at with a passport scan. Runs on the Magenta network (T-Mobile Austria), which posts the strongest urban coverage. Good for 1–4 week visits where data is moderate.
Cheapest option you can order before flying. EUR 6.90 per 30 days for 10 GB on the Drei network. Online sign-up via spusu.at accepts foreign passports and video-ID; the SIM ships to an Austrian address (hotel, Airbnb host). Annual contract option saves another EUR 1 if you plan to keep it.
A1 tourist packs at the Vienna airport shop run EUR 19.90 for 20 GB / 30 days. Pricier than Hofer but you walk out connected within 10 minutes. A1 has the strongest rural and Alpine coverage, relevant if you're heading to Tyrol or the Salzkammergut.
Travel eSIMs are not subject to the Austrian SIM-registration rule: the profile is issued by a non-Austrian operator. Airalo's Austria plan starts at USD 4.50 for 1 GB / 7 days; the Europe plan covers 39 countries at USD 17 for 5 GB. Trade-off: no Austrian phone number.
How do you activate a tourist SIM in Austria?
Passport · web-ID or video-ID · 10–20 minutes total
Activation takes 10–20 minutes. You need a passport (or EU national ID card), the SIM card + activation code printed inside the pack, a working phone with Wi-Fi, and an address in Austria — the hotel works fine. The operator runs the identity check online via web-ID or video-ID; nothing is done in the supermarket itself.
- Buy the SIM pack. At Hofer the HoT pack sits at the till — pay cash or card. The cashier does not see your passport. The pack contains a triple-cut SIM, a 12-digit activation code, and a German-language leaflet.
- Insert the SIM, connect to Wi-Fi. The SIM is unregistered, so it cannot use cellular yet. Hotel or café Wi-Fi is fine. (2 min)
- Open the operator's activation page. HoT: hot.at/aktivieren. spusu: spusu.at/aktivieren. Magenta tourist: magenta.at/aktivieren. (2 min)
- Run the identity check. Upload a photo of your passport's data page plus a short selfie video. HoT and spusu use IDnow or Nect. Smaller operators may push you into a 5-minute video call — book a slot in advance for same-day activation. (5–10 min)
- Fill in the address form. Use the hotel or Airbnb address. The Austrian regulator (RTR) requires a contact address but doesn't cross-check it against residence. (2 min)
- Wait for the SMS confirmation. Activation completes within 5–15 minutes. You'll receive a German-language SMS confirming the new Austrian number.
- Test a call and a data session. Disable Wi-Fi, load a webpage, and dial HoT customer service (0676 999 0). If both work, the SIM is registered.
Which Austrian SIM has the best EU roaming for tourists?
RLAH applies · Watch the fair-use cap · Switzerland excluded
All Austrian prepaid SIMs include Roam Like at Home (RLAH) across the EU-27 plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway — calls, SMS and the full data allowance are usable at the same price as in Austria. For cross-border travel, spusu and HoT publish the most generous fair-use caps. Switzerland is NOT part of the EU roaming zone; expect EUR 0.10–0.20 per megabyte unless you add a Swiss day pack.
| Provider | Plan | EU data cap | Switzerland | UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HoT smart | EUR 5.90 | Full 10 GB | Pay-per-use | Pay-per-use |
| spusu 4 | EUR 6.90 | Full 10 GB | Pay-per-use | Pay-per-use |
| Lidl Connect L | EUR 9.50 | Approx 20 GB (FU) | Pay-per-use | Pay-per-use |
| A1 Tourist | EUR 19.90 | Full 20 GB | EUR 4.99 day pass | EUR 4.99 day pass |
| Airalo Europe | USD 17 / 5 GB | 39 countries | Included | Included |
Source: Operator tariff pages, RTR Roaming Regulation, verified May 2026. Fair-use (FU) caps apply.
For a Vienna-only trip the EU-roaming column doesn't matter. For a typical itinerary — Vienna plus a day trip to Bratislava or Budapest, then a stop in Salzburg with a side hop to Munich — every plan in the table covers the entire route at no extra cost. Cross-border into Switzerland, on the other hand, is the single biggest billing trap; if Zürich, Lucerne or Geneva are on the trip, the Airalo Europe eSIM is the only option that includes Switzerland in the base price.
Should you get a tourist SIM or a travel eSIM?
eSIM · Faster · No passport · No local number · Pricier per GB
Pick a travel eSIM (Airalo, Holafly) if your trip is under 10 days, you want to avoid the passport check, or you'll cross into Switzerland or the UK. Pick a local Austrian SIM (HoT, spusu) if your trip is over 10 days, you need an Austrian number for hotel callbacks or hospital paperwork, or you simply want the lowest euro-per-gigabyte rate.
Travel eSIM (Airalo / Holafly)
- Activates before you land — connectivity from the gate
- No passport upload, no German-language activation flow
- Europe-wide plans cover Switzerland and the UK
- Keep your home SIM for SMS-based 2FA
- Trade-off: no Austrian phone number, pricier per GB
Local Austrian SIM (HoT / spusu)
- EUR 5.90–9.50 per 30 days — half the price per GB
- Local Austrian number for hotel, restaurant, Uber callbacks
- Works at full speed even after a fair-use cap on EU roaming
- Trade-off: passport upload, German activation flow, 15-min wait
- Trade-off: no coverage in Switzerland (pay-per-MB)
A practical hybrid is common. Travellers staying two weeks load an Airalo eSIM for the airport-to-hotel sprint, then buy HoT at Hofer the next morning and switch the primary line over. The eSIM stays on the phone as a roaming fallback when crossing into Liechtenstein, Switzerland or the UK.
Can you get a SIM at Vienna airport (VIE)?
Yes · T1 arrivals · A1 and Magenta · 06:00–22:00
Yes. A1 and Magenta operate retail counters in Vienna International (VIE) Terminal 1 arrivals, on the public-side concourse between baggage reclaim and the train station. Drei has a smaller booth nearby. All three sell tourist packs with on-the-spot passport check and activation. Counters are open 06:00–22:00 daily. Expect to pay EUR 15–25 for a 10–20 GB pack — roughly 2–3x the Hofer price for the convenience.
For travellers landing at Salzburg (SZG), Innsbruck (INN), Graz (GRZ) or Linz (LNZ), the SIM-shop presence is much thinner — usually one Magenta or A1 counter with limited hours. The fallback is a Hofer supermarket in the town centre (every one of these airports has a Hofer within 20 minutes by bus or taxi) or an Airalo eSIM loaded before departure.
What's the catch with cheap tourist SIMs?
German activation · Top-up vouchers · Auto-renew · 3-month expiry
Three things bite tourists buying a cheap supermarket SIM. The activation flow is German-only on HoT and Lidl Connect — use the browser translate function or expect a 15-minute slog. Top-up vouchers are sold under the till at Hofer/Lidl, not on the shelf; ask the cashier specifically. And the monthly bundle auto-renews as long as credit is on the account — leave EUR 30 unused and you'll come back next year to a flat balance.
- German-only activation flow. HoT, Lidl Connect and yesss! run the activation in German only. Browser translate works but mis-translates "Bestätigen" (confirm) on one step — sit next to a German speaker for the IDnow video if possible.
- Top-up vouchers are behind the till. Hofer keeps HoT vouchers (EUR 10/20/30) in a binder behind the cashier, not on the shelf. Ask: "Ein HoT Guthaben Bon, 10 Euro bitte." Lidl Connect vouchers sit at the cigarette counter.
- Auto-renew silently eats credit. The 30-day bundle renews as long as you have EUR 5.90+ on the SIM. Cancel the auto-renew in the operator app before you fly home or the credit drains until the number deactivates.
- The number lapses after 3–12 months. No paid activity for 3 months (HoT, yesss!) to 12 months (A1, Magenta) deactivates the number. A EUR 5 top-up per quarter via the app keeps it alive.
- Tethering is throttled on cheap plans. HoT, spusu and Lidl Connect cap hotspot speed at 50–100 Mbps on 5G. A1 and Magenta tourist packs run uncapped.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need a passport to buy a SIM in Austria?expand_more
Yes for every Austrian SIM. The legal basis is the Telekommunikationsgesetz amendment of 1 January 2019, which requires SIM-card identity verification for both prepaid and post-paid contracts. The check is enforced online by the operator (HoT, spusu, A1, Magenta, Drei), not by the supermarket cashier. The only path that skips the passport step is a travel eSIM issued by a non-Austrian operator such as Airalo or Holafly.
Can EU citizens use a national ID card instead of a passport?expand_more
Yes. EU/EEA citizens can use any in-date national ID card with a machine-readable zone. The IDnow and Nect verification flows accept ID cards from all 27 EU states plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. UK citizens lost the ID-card path post-Brexit and must use a passport. Non-EU travellers always need a passport.
How long does an Austrian prepaid SIM stay active?expand_more
The SIM number stays active for 3 months after the last paid activity on HoT, yesss! and spusu, and for 12 months on A1 and Magenta. Paid activity means a top-up or an outgoing chargeable call — incoming calls don't count. A small EUR 5 top-up via the operator app once per quarter is enough to keep the number alive between visits.
Can I tether or hotspot a tourist SIM in Austria?expand_more
Yes on all major operators. HoT, spusu and Lidl Connect cap tethering speed at 50–100 Mbps on 5G plans; A1 and Magenta tourist packs are uncapped. Tethered usage counts against the same monthly cap as on-phone use.
Does an Austrian tourist SIM work in Switzerland?expand_more
It works but at pay-per-use rates. Switzerland sits outside RLAH, so data costs roughly EUR 0.10–0.20 per megabyte and calls EUR 1–2 per minute. A1 and Magenta sell a Switzerland day pack around EUR 4.99 for 500 MB + 50 minutes. For a Swiss leg, an Airalo Europe eSIM is the cleaner option.
What do I do if I don't have an Austrian address for the registration form?expand_more
Use the hotel or Airbnb address. RTR requires a contact address for the registration record, but it does not have to match your residence and is not cross-checked. HoT, spusu, A1 and Magenta all accept hotel and Airbnb addresses without follow-up.
Can I keep the Austrian number after I go home?expand_more
Yes as long as you keep the SIM in credit. A EUR 5 top-up every 90 days via the operator app keeps the number active on HoT, yesss! and spusu; A1 and Magenta allow 12 months between top-ups. Useful for repeat visitors who want a +43 number for hotel callbacks and 2FA.